partition size

Hi, new n00b here and have a quick question
ive just got a revo aspire to play with and id like to use win7 because its what i know (sorry linux users) and like the look of xbmc
if i went the win7 + xbmc then what size partition(s) do i need on this 500gb hdd
is it 1 for both o/s or 1 each? as i want to keep 1 as large as poss for the media.
im happy to dedicate 100gb for the windows/xbmc if needed but no need to waste more than i need, the windows side will really just be for surfing and internet flash games etc
this is all on the understanding it dual boots or do you get xbmc from within windows? sorry for n00b q but i did try a search

I would use a single partition. On my Revo 3610 I use a single C: partition and I put all my media in C:\XBMC.

Old time server dudes like myself prefer putting the OS and data on separate partitions, but the C:\Windows directory can vary a lot in size so it's hard to create a partition you're sure will be big enough without wasting a lot of space. If you really want a separate partition 100GB is certainly big enough and you could probably get away with 64GB.

thanks for the reply, im going by my other pc's which only have 64gb ssd and backup hdd so 100gb would be more than enough
its just now regarding xbmc, does it req its own partition or will it be incorporated into the windows 1? if it needs its own then whats a good size

i too am old school and like data on sep drives, just incase i need a fresh install

irradiated Wrote:thanks for the reply, im going by my other pc's which only have 64gb ssd

Ah, OK, a 64GB SSD should be fine. The problem is that Microsoft, in their wisdom, store all sorts of crap in the C:\Windows directory and it can bloat to quite scary levels. 64GB should be fine though.

By default the XBMC binaries will install into C:\Program Files\XBMC, and the XBMC data will be stored in C:\Users\<your username>\AppData\Roaming\XBMC. It is possible to change the defaults though it's not usually worth it. The XBMC data, i.e. your music and videos, can be stored anywhere on the hard disks or on a network server.

irradiated Wrote:if i went the win7 + xbmc then what size partition(s) do i need on this 500gb
hdd

40GB should be sufficient for a Win7 installation if you're keeping Linux.

irradiated Wrote:is it 1 for both o/s or 1 each?

Generally, you use one partition per bootable O/S. I think it's possible to boot
Linux from a special, boot-image file stored on a "Windows" filesystem but
I've never done it.

irradiated Wrote:this is all on the understanding it dual boots or
do you get xbmc from within windows?

What you have on your system now is a distribution of Linux, with XBMC,
which is customized for booting and/or installing from a CD or USB drive.
XBMC itself is available for Linux, MacOS, and of course Windows.

Do you want Linux? If not, you could install Win7 over it and then install the
Windows version XBMC. If you change your mind later, Linux and the Linux
version of XBMC are free; download them and reinstall.

thanks, im going down the win7 and xbmc because windows is what i know and this is hard enough without having to learn something like linux too
im getting there but it will be slow going
i remember when i first learnt yamj on the popcorn, bloody nightmare but i got there in the end. plenty of info here for me to learn from too